اَوَ لَمْ Do not یَرَ see الَّذِیْنَ those who كَفَرُوْۤا disbelieved اَنَّ that السَّمٰوٰتِ the heavens وَ الْاَرْضَ and the earth كَانَتَا were رَتْقًا a joined entity فَفَتَقْنٰهُمَا ؕ then We parted them وَ جَعَلْنَا and We made مِنَ from الْمَآءِ [the] water كُلَّ every شَیْءٍ living thing حَیٍّ ؕ living thing اَفَلَا Then will not یُؤْمِنُوْنَ they believe وَ جَعَلْنَا And We (have) placed فِی in الْاَرْضِ the earth رَوَاسِیَ firmly set mountains اَنْ lest تَمِیْدَ it (should) shake بِهِمْ ۪ with them وَ جَعَلْنَا and We made فِیْهَا therein فِجَاجًا broad passes سُبُلًا (as) ways لَّعَلَّهُمْ so that they may یَهْتَدُوْنَ (be) guided وَ جَعَلْنَا And We made السَّمَآءَ the sky سَقْفًا a roof مَّحْفُوْظًا ۖۚ protected وَّ هُمْ But they عَنْ from اٰیٰتِهَا its Signs مُعْرِضُوْنَ turn away وَ هُوَ And He الَّذِیْ (is) the One Who خَلَقَ created الَّیْلَ the night وَ النَّهَارَ and the day وَ الشَّمْسَ and the sun وَ الْقَمَرَ ؕ and the moon كُلٌّ each فِیْ in فَلَكٍ an orbit یَّسْبَحُوْنَ floating
(21:30) Did the unbelievers (who do not accept the teaching of the Prophet) not realize that the heavens and the earth were one solid mass, then We tore them apart,28 and We made every living being out of water?29 Will they, then, not believe (that We created all this)?
(21:31) And We placed firm mountains on earth lest it should sway with them,30 and We made wide paths31 in them that they may find their way;32
(21:32) and We made the sky a secure canopy;33 and yet they turn away from these Signs.34
(21:33) It is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Each of them is floating in its orbit.35
28. The two words used here are ratq and fatq. Ratq meaning to be together, to be conjoined, to be homogeneous and adjacent; fatq meaning to separate or to split apart. The verse seems to suggest that this universe was initially one huge mass which was later separated into different parts so that the earth and other heavenly bodies were given shape as separate entities. (For further details see al-Sajdah 32, nn. 13-15.)
29. It seems that God not only made water a means of life, but also its very basis from which He caused all life to originate in and from. The same point is made elsewhere in the Qur’an: ‘And God has created every living being from water’ (al-Nur 24: 45).
30. For an explanation of this see Towards Understanding the Qur’an, vol. IV, al-Nahl 16, n. 12, p. 317.
31. God placed passes between mountains and also made it possible for people to traverse mountainous regions and journey from one territory to another along rivers. Likewise, God has so constituted the earth that either there are pre-existing routes to travel from one area to another, or man is able to fashion alternatives for himself.
32. This statement has more than one meaning. The first means that these mountain passes are intended to help people find ways to traverse the earth. The second means that by observing the wisdom and dexterity of the well-ordered arrangement of things that sufficiently minister to man’s needs, people will be able to find their way to the ultimate truth.
33. For details see Towards Understanding the Qur’ an, vol. IV, al-Hijr 15, nn, 8, 10-12, pp. 285-6.
34. Here reference is made to the signs God has placed in the heavens.
35. The words and used in this verse suggest that the reference is not only to the sun and the moon, but also to other heavenly bodies such as the stars and planets. This is borne out by the use of the verb in its plural rather than dual form. Another word used here is which is a familiar term in Arabic for sky. Since the verse says that each is floating in its falak, two points. clearly emerge. First, that all the heavenly bodies are not floating in one and the same orbit; rather each has its own orbit. Second, an orbit is not something static with a planet fixed on to it. It rather seems to be something fluid, something seemingly vacuous, like space where if any heavenly bodies move their movement gives the impression of floating. (For further details see Ya Sin 36, n. 37.) In ancient times, the concepts that people held about the heavens and the earth, about their being conjoined (ratq), separated (fatq), about every living being made from water, and heavenly bodies in their respective orbits (see verses 30 to 33) were quite different from what we now believe. Our present notions pertaining to those matters — thanks to advancements in physics, biology and astronomy — have greatly changed. It cannot be definitely said how the statements made on these matters by the Qur’an will be understood in the future for man’s expanding knowledge is bound to have a bearing on this. It is significant, however, that contemporary man finds these’ Qur’anic statements in verses 30 to 33 to fully conform with the latest scientific information on the subject. It should also be noted that whilst the discourse in verses 18 to 29 is concerned with a return to polytheism, that in verses 30 to 33 consists of advancing evidence in support of God’s unity. The core of the matter is that the very order of the universe negates even the faintest suggestion that anyone other than God has any role whatsoever in its workings. Is it possible that such a perfectly well-ordered universe could have come into existence and then functioned with such ease and smoothness had it been under the control of more than one god? Can any rational person even imagine that a universe which seems geared to achieve a myriad of good purposes has no other meaning than that afforded by a mere area? Is the universe no more than a set of playthings designed to entertain their Creator for a while only then to be discarded and reduced by Him to nothingness? Does it stand to reason that people can encounter all that we have mentioned above, and yet deny what the Prophet (peace be on him) taught them? Why when everything in the heavens and on earth bears testimony to the unity of God, do the unbelievers deny the call of the Prophet (peace be on him) which is after all a call to God’s unity? Why is it that despite all these signs, the unbelievers continue to ask him to come forward with some miraculous sign (see verse 5 above)? Are the countless signs which they have already insufficient to corroborate the veracity of the Prophet’s call to affirm the unity of God?